


Coping

by Perkalil



Category: The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Colorado, Drinking, F/M, Post-Apotheosis, just a little thing, poetic smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-14 09:18:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 464
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19270303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perkalil/pseuds/Perkalil
Summary: You could say Paul and Emma are pros at coping with the event of the Apotheosis.But you’d be wrong.





	Coping

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is something that has been in my files for a bit now, and because I don’t have all that much time to write, I figured I’d give you guys something to read in between updates for Inevitable, Inevitable. Hope you enjoy!

When it came to dealing with nightmares, Emma and Paul were basically pros at coping mechanisms. If you called avoiding sleeping or avoiding talking about nightmares or using alcohol ‘coping mechanisms’, then they were pros. At least they could tell when the other were having rough patches; Emma would stop talking, spend a lot of time sitting with the curtains drawn, sometimes she would even find herself humming the songs in her nightmares. That always set the both of them on edge and Emma would go for a walk on their plot of land in Colorado until she had gotten the songs out of her head. Paul would start obsessively cleaning the house, he would organize and reorganize the biology books and various botany papers that Emma had collected for her small pot farm. When he got really bad he wouldn’t leave their bed. 

Of the two of them, Emma was the drinker. Paul preferred to stop eating during his mild episodes, but Emma would try to wash the memories of her nightmares away with whatever was in the house. They would stay together during the more mild times; drunk Emma loved to be held and comforted and Paul was all too eager to supply the affection she needed. Paul needed someone to care for to keep his mind off of the memories of Hatchetfield, and Emma needed to be cared for. 

The rare times emotions and memories of the nightmares are shared, it’s always immediately afterwards. One would always wake up the other, by screaming or crying was always a toss up. A flurry of “It was horrible”s, “I know, I know, but we made it out.”s, and “I need to forget”s always ensued, then comforting kisses and touches become more desperate, more passionate. Suddenly their routine starts over again; touching to forget, loving each other to forget, being intertwined in the most intimate of ways as a coping mechanism. Biting skin, back scratches, neck kisses and whispered names to forget what always lingered. 

Once their breathing slowed, their hearts stopped racing and lust disappearing like the sweat shining on their connected bodies, they would always share what the nightmares were about. For Paul, it was always the what ifs; what if they hadn’t made it out, what if he had gotten infected, what if he hadn’t been in Beanies that day. For Emma, it was always the same thing- losing Paul. Once they had moved to Colorado, she had given up her icy facade; there was no one to act tough for if the only person you ever saw was your boyfriend. Talking about it was the best coping mechanism they had, but for Paul and Emma it was too much to handle.

So the pro coping mechanisms continue.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave kudos or comments, they brighten my day!


End file.
